FAQ: Who can become a Blue Light Champion?

If you are currently employed by, or volunteer with any of the four emergency services, and you want to positively and constructively challenge mental health stigma, we’d love you to become a Blue Light Champion. For more information please take a look at the Blue Light Champion role description.

FAQ: How do I sign up?

FAQ: Do I need to have personal experience?

No. We welcome individuals with and without personal experience of mental health problems to become Blue Light Champions. What counts is that you are passionate about challenging mental health stigma and promoting wellbeing at work.

FAQ: I don't want to share my personal experience at work. Can I still sign up?

Of course. If you have personal experience of mental health problems and decide that you would like to become a Blue Light Champion, it is completely up to you whether you choose to share your story as part of becoming active in challenging mental health stigma. We understand this is a very personal decision and is by no means required in order to become a Blue Light Champion.

FAQ: What is the time commitment?

We want the Blue Light Champion opportunity to be as accessible and flexible as possible so there is no set time commitment. We just ask that you undertake meaningful anti-stigma activities within your workplace, being mindful that you only undertake activity that you feel comfortable with. You may want to discuss with your line manager the possibility of them allowing work time to undertake activities as a Blue Light Champion, although thismay not be possible or necessary.

FAQ: How can I learn to speak up about my mental health experience in a safe environment?

If you have your own personal experience of mental health problems you may wish to speak about this to an audience of your colleagues.

If you don’t have personal experience of mental health problems, you could find opportunities to talk to colleagues about the importance of challenging mental health stigma and promoting wellbeing. You might find our guidance on reaching out and organising events helpful. We also have a branded presentation you could use if you contact us.

We are encouraging services to train their Champions in Speaking Up going forward and deliver their own Speaking Up, Speaking Out workshops. We will be holding a number of training sessions this year for services to learn how to deliver these workshops but we'll also be sharing the workshop materials and guidance on delivering them on our website for everyone to access.

If you are registered as a Champion we will keep you posted. If you are not yet registered you can do so by clicking the link below.

FAQ: Is there a limit to how many Champions a service can have?

FAQ: Will I get to meet other Blue Light Champions?

There will be a few workshops and events for Blue Light Champions this year, run by us, local Minds or by services themselves. If you are registered as a Champion we will keep you posted. If you are not yet registered you can do so by clicking on the link below.